


interlude.

by luna_e_stelle



Series: stormy weather [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Peter Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, he gets a hug dw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 12:52:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18521914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luna_e_stelle/pseuds/luna_e_stelle
Summary: Tony can't sleep, and Peter has a nightmare.After the bombing, they try and work through some things.





	interlude.

_Stark Industries are offering our sincerest condolences to those affected by the recent attack at the annual Economic Conference. Furthermore, Mr. Tony Stark has offered and is willing to personally cover any funeral cost for all of the eleven lives taken, and additionally, cover for any hospital fee that those wounded in this tragic event are required to pay._

 

_The following is a direct statement from Ms. Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries:_

 

_‘First and foremost, my heart is truely going out to those affected by the attack. This was a cowardly and disgusting act, and the loss of innocent life weighs heavily on our hearts._

__

_Stark Industries is in direct contact with authorities, and we are currently investigating both the motive and the faults in the security systems on the day._

 

_Once again, we at Stark Industries offer our greatest sympathies.’_

 

Tony leant back on the couch. His eyes stung with exhaustion, lids sore and closing. His mind was racing, though; thoughts running around in endless circles that were too quick for him to catch. The cut on his forehead throbbed slightly, from underneath the bandaid that Peter had made him put on.

He sighed and clicked on another article without really reading the title. But then he glanced over it. His heart jumped and he absentmindedly reached down to where Peter was laying next to him, asleep, and ran a hand through his hair.

 

_Hero Intern?_

 

_Recent footage has resurfaced from Wednesday’s bombing of the Stark Conference, recovered by reporter Melissa McCard._

 

His finger hovered over the video, and Tony stole himself and clicked play, making sure it was on mute.

It was a livestream of the conference, the camera pointed at the stage. He spotted Peter straight away, just finished answering the question and looking back at Tony. He saw the thumbs up he had given Peter, the relieved grin that broke out on the kid’s face, and his heart clenched. Then Peter went tense, a wild look in his wide eyes as he stared at something off stage.

He leaned back, whispering for Tony to call the suit. A few seconds passed, and then Peter jumped up.

" _Everyone, get down!_ " Tony remembered him shouting that, the severeness in Peter’s voice that almost shocked him as much as the explosion, and Peter pushed Tony and Pepper to the ground. There was a burst of orange and red, fire, from the side. In his mind, he could hear the deafening sound.

The video cut off abruptly.

Tony blinked. He didn’t move for a few seconds, let out a breath. He scrolled down to the article.

 

_A limited amount of information has been released on the Stark Intern, Peter Parker. According to this information, the intern is sixteen years old and works directly with Mr. Stark. Even accounting for Stark Industries’ tight security, the limitations on Parker’s job description and personal data is extensive._

_Parker’s heroic actions, as shown in the video, only pegs the question: Who is this boy, and how did he find himself in such close contact with Tony Stark?_

 

Anger burst in his chest, sharp and sudden. Tony clenched his jaw. But then Peter muttered something in his sleep, and it drained out of him. He threw his phone down and pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. That damn kid and his damn self-sacrificial complex.

The kid’s private information wasn’t anyone’s business. He didn’t want the press getting their dirty hands anywhere near him.

"I can’t…" Peter’s voice made him jump, even if it was just a sluggish whisper. He looked down to see the kid’s eyes shut tightly, eyebrows furrowed.

A small smile tugged at Tony’s mouth, even if he would never admit it. The kid still couldn’t managed to be quiet, even in his sleep.

Then Peter’s breathing started speeding up, his chest rising and falling faster. His head tossed to the side, an incomprehensible word slipping from his mouth.

"Pete," Tony said, shaking his shoulders gently. "Wake up, buddy."

"No — I’m sorry —" His voice was getting louder, panic bleeding into it.

Tony slid off the couch and crouched in front on Peter, shaking his shoulder again. "Come on, kiddo. Time to wake up."

" _No_ —" His eyes snapped open, glazed over and his lungs shuddering as he gasped for air.

"Pete, you’re okay," Tony promised, but Peter cringed away from his touch, pushed him back and scrambled away and pressed his hands to his eyes, breathing too hard. "Pete?"

Peter shook his head, curled into himself. "Just —"

Anxiety raced through Tony. He sat stiffly on the edge of the couch, tense and ready to do _something_ , but just watching as Peter sucked in short breaths, giving him space.

"Just, give me — a sec," he choked, and Tony nodded, even if Peter wasn’t looking at him.

"Whatever you need, kid," he said softly.

Peter squeezed his eyes shut. He was shaking. Tony didn’t move, barely dared to breathe. When the kid stuck out a hand, though, he raced over, put an arm around his shoulders and started combing his fingers through his hair.

They sat in the quiet, rain starting to fall against the windows and the sharp sting of panic dissolving from the air.

"I saw Caleb Robinson," Peter whispered. "After the bomb went off."

Tony remembered glancing at Caleb’s body as he tried to make sure Peter was okay. Burnt flesh came to mind, but then so did the terror at Peter not waking up, not responding. Caleb had been tightly wound and rigid, but he had been good at his job.

"I could have saved him." Peter gently untangled himself and wrapped his hands around his stomach, staring straight forward. "But I didn’t think about it. Saving him first didn’t even cross my mind."

"What was crossing your mind, then?" Tony tilted his head.

Peter glanced back at him and then looked to the floor. "I wanted to save you and Pepper."

There was something deeper going on; a wavering in the kid’s voice that didn’t make sense, the way his shoulders were slumped and the tremors still in his hands.

"What’s wrong with that?" He kept his question as gentle as he could.

"I just — I don’t feel guilty about it. About choosing someone else’s life over another." Peter met his eyes. "Does that make me a bad person?"

His head shook before he could think. "You can’t save everyone, kid. You know that."

A glint of anger flashed in the kid’s eyes. "I’d do it again. I wouldn’t have to think about it."

"That doesn’t make you a bad person, Pete," Tony said, but Peter just stood and walked to the window, frustrated. "You choosing to save people you love doesn’t make you a bad person."

"I shouldn’t get to make a decision at all."

"You can’t save everyone," Tony repeated, firmer. "You regret saving me and Pepper?"

"What?" He looked horrified at the thought. "No. Never."

"Then stop." The rain was picking up, heavier and heavier. "This isn’t on you."

Peter looked away, out of the window. He started tracing patterns on the glass with a finger. Tony scrubbed a hand down his face.

"My dream, just then," Peter said quietly. "I had to choose between something. It was important, I think, but no one could hear me, and I don’t think I could make a decision. You were there, and you tried to speak to me, but I couldn’t hear you, either."

"We still managed, when you couldn’t hear." Peter sent a small, sad smile over his shoulder, before turning away again.

"I think you were trying to yell at me — to choose something. And then you started to get hurt. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t choose between them."

He tried to think of something to say. A quip to take away the heaviness in the air, or something useful that would help. Nothing happened, just a muted quiet, broken apart by the tap of raindrops on glass.

Peter sat beside him again, watching him, almost like he was waiting for Tony to tell him that he was a bad person, that he made the wrong choice.

"You know I’d do the same for you, right?" He said seriously, catching his eye. "I’d choose you over anybody."

He wrapped an arm around Peter’s shoulders again, and he curled up, shut his eyes and buried his head into Tony’s shoulder, just like he had two days ago as they drove away from the conference.

"Yeah," he whispered. "Yeah, I know."

**Author's Note:**

> um not too sure about this one  
> it is really an interlude cause i have plans for the next part and i feel like i needed to put something after the last one ?
> 
> tysm for reading though !! <3
> 
> feedback would be v appreciated for this one, cause im probably gonna edit the shit out of it later 
> 
> youre all sweethearts n tysm for all the love on my other stories <33


End file.
